Her Story
About Jane
I've been in this industry for about 6 years, and it has its ups and downs, its stressful moments and good moments, like any position. I'm a fleet manager for a non-profit organization that provides housing and healthcare for mentally and physically challenged individuals. I manage about 100 vehicles all over the city in different counties. It's not just taking care of the vehicles, but making sure that the proper house has the proper type of vehicle for the residents that live there - some are wheelchair-bound, some are not, some are high-functioning, some are not. So it can be like playing chess at times, but it's very rewarding. When I first came here, they didn't really have a fleet program - they just had one of their maintenance people basically running around taking vehicles for oil changes. The job is so much more than that - the administration end of it is a lot, and then you also have the maintenance end of it. I was able to come in with my experience and take the reins from day one and say, okay, we need to turn this into an actual program. I had to rewrite policies and do a whole bunch of things to get this program off the ground. I'm pretty proud of the work we've done here so far, and all the people who have been such great teamwork people to help me. We're just growing and getting bigger. What I love most is seeing the residents' faces, especially when they get a new vehicle. We lease a lot of our vehicles now through Enterprise, and we're trying to change them out every 4 years because we're carrying people's loved ones around in these vehicles, so we want to make sure they're nice and clean. Seeing their faces when we pull up with a brand new van for their house and they're all excited to take a ride in it - that we can do this for them and that they're not housebound, that we can get them and take them to the zoo or movies or things that they like to do that normal people like to do. We try to treat them like we would anybody, so it's exciting when they get excited.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Jane
01What do you attribute your success to?
I attribute my success to the people around me, the people I work with. I've been so lucky - I've worked for a few different companies with this same type of role, and each company I've been with, just the support that I get from my coworkers has been incredible. And then I always have my family, who's always there to back me up. Anytime I'm having a bad day, they're all like, you got this, you know, somehow it just always works out, Jane. They tell me I don't know why I worry, that I always make it work. They say I'm like a cat - I just keep landing on my feet.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
When I first started in this field, I received an email from a lady who was a trainer at one of our other offices in St. Louis. She sent me a quote that said, 'Jane, you're eating an elephant, just take one bite at a time.' And it's so true in this industry, because there's such an overwhelming amount of responsibility and things to do on a daily basis that it does feel like you're eating an elephant. So the advice is to just slow down and realize you can't take it all in at once, you can't do it all at once. Just prioritize some things, take small bites, take it slow, and it all works out.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
It's been a challenge. Even here, there's still a lot of people who are closed-minded, and they see a woman in charge of vehicles - and it's typically seen as a man's job. I work with a lot of garages for repair work and a lot of dealerships, and I mostly work with men all the time. When they see a woman in this role, they think that we don't know anything about vehicles, we don't know anything about repairs, because that was always typically a man thing. So when I start getting technical with the garage, and they realize that I understand what all these car parts are and what all the repairs actually are, they're like, oh wow, she actually knows her stuff. So it's just about getting the men of the world to realize that women can do it, and a lot of times, we do it better.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the biggest challenge here with this company is the residents that we deal with who use our vehicles, because it changes everything. Typically, in a fleet where you're having to take vehicles in to get them serviced, here it's a lot different, because you have to realize who you're taking the vehicle away from. We have mentally challenged residents, we have disabled residents. Every time I take a vehicle from them, even to just go get a simple oil change, I have to replace it with something, because they could have emergency doctor's appointments - they have a lot more needs than just the average person. So that's been a challenge, just trying to work around them, but it's also been such a pleasure, too. So it's kind of like a double-edged sword. But that's probably the biggest challenge - just trying to work around their schedules and their needs and everything makes it a little more difficult, a little more challenging.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
I'm a Christian, so my faith is really important to me and to those around me. I like to help people and sort of shine my own light in the world, and this job allows me to do that. I value honesty, and trust, and camaraderie, and humor, and just so many things. I'm so blessed to have the crew of people here that I work with that are so supportive.
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